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Television Costars Refuse To Speak

SOLVED!

[BlindGossip] A while back, this comedic television actor said some very offensive things during a performance. One of his television costars – who took the insult very personally – came down hard on him, and demanded that he refrain from ever repeating the offending material again. The actor refused, claiming that he had to be true to himself as a performer, and that controversial material was part of his persona. The costar, who wields more power on the show, told the actor that he would be fired if he didn’t make amends for his transgressions. So he relented and finally did apologize… very reluctantly. He told friends that he would never forgive the co-star for making him do the walk of shame. Although they are still on the same show, their relationship is very rocky, and the two do not speak at all unless they are in a scene together.

Actor:

Costar:

TV Show:

SOLVED!

It’s Tracy Morgan and Tina Fey of 30 Rock! Source: BlindGossip

Morgan made derogatory comments about gay people in the summer of 2011, and Fey made him apologize for it.

However, neither of them ever really got over it, and now do not speak unless absolutely necessary. If they ever do interviews or other promotional events or awards shows together, they are very collegial with each other, and you would never know that there is a problem. Remember, they are both very good actors.

It’s a shame, because the two of them used to be good friends. Morgan credited Tina Fey for being one of the very few people who really understood him. He even got choked up on Oprah in 2010 (before all this went down) talking about how grateful he was to Fey for helping him take his career to the next level with 30 Rock.

Here’s the back story to the controversy:

On June 3, 2011, during a performance in Nashville, Tennessee, Morgan made politically incorrect remarks against gay people, reportedly including that, if his son was gay, he’d better speak to him like a man or he would “pull out a knife and stab” him.

Morgan apologized, saying that he had “gone too far”.

NBC Entertainment head Bob Greenblatt stated, “I speak for NBC and myself personally when I say we do not condone hate or violence of any kind, and I am pleased to see Tracy Morgan apologizing for recent homophobic remarks in his standup appearance… Unfortunately, Tracy’s comments reflect negatively on both 30 Rock and NBC — two very all-inclusive and diverse organizations — and we have made it clear to him that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated.”

Tina Fey, Morgan’s boss both in fiction and in real life, said, “I’m glad to hear that Tracy apologized …. but the violent imagery of Tracy’s rant was disturbing to me at a time when homophobic hate crimes continue to be a life-threatening issue for the LGBT community…the Tracy Morgan I know, …is not a hateful man and [would never] hurt another person. I hope for his sake that Tracy’s apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian co-workers at 30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket.”

And here is a clip talking about Morgan’s Apology Tour. Please note that although the interviewer says that it was Jordan’s discussion with Russell Simmons that made him realize that he screwed up, it was actually Tina Fey’s “Apologize or get fired” ultimatum that really did the trick:



Canadian and Yuolala were tied for first with he correct guess. Congratulations!

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December 18th, 2011 | Tags: , | Category: Solved

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